


Red Mug?

by MightyAmphitrite



Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, But we still love him, Central Park, Clnt Barton is a walking disaster, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Happy Ending, Harry is not amused, Humor, Marriage Proposal, Meet-Cute, New York City, Propert Damage, tropefest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 20:05:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16501880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MightyAmphitrite/pseuds/MightyAmphitrite
Summary: Security consultant Harry Potter and his friends visit the same coffee shop every morning, though he hasn't gotten up the courage to ask out his favorite barista. Will the power of love bring them together?Harry needs all the help he can get, because this isn't a fairy tale: it's New York, and every time he thinks it's all coming together, the Avengers seem determined to ruin the moment.





	Red Mug?

**Author's Note:**

> To clarify: Harry and Co. are mundane businesspeople in Avengers NYC. Chaos ensues.

"Red mug?"

Harry Potter stepped out of the crowd of people waiting for their coffee orders, smiling at the blonde barista who held out his mug. Murmuring his thanks, he took the proffered drink and sat down to wait for his friends.

"You _still_ haven't told her your name?"

Sometimes he wished the wait was longer.

"She didn't ask the first time we came in," Harry told Hermione, for what felt like the hundredth time, "and I never saw the point in bringing it up."

"I think she'd be interested in knowing it," she pressed, joining him at the little table. "And maybe getting to know you, too. She always smiles when you come in-"

"She's paid to smile at us-"

"And no matter who else is working, she's always the one who makes your latte."

Harry crossed his arms. "Coincidence."

"What are we talking about?" Ron asked, sidling over with his own cup of coffee.

"I'm trying to convince Harry to ask out the barista he likes," Hermione said matter-of-factly, grinning as Harry shushed her.

Ron turned to look as he settled into his seat, ignoring Harry's groan of dismay. "The one with the long hair? Who's always staring off into space?"

Harry allowed himself a tiny glance in the direction of the counter. She was indeed staring off into the distance, the container of milk she was refilling on the verge of overflowing, a soft smile on her face. Harry sighed.

"I'm not going to be some creep who hits on her while she's working," Harry muttered, sipping his coffee and wishing he could melt into the floor.

"What if I found out when she went on break?" Hermione asked, watching him expectantly.

"Just leave it alone, okay?" He snapped the lid onto his travel mug with an air of finality. "It's not like she'd be interested anyway." He stole a final glance as they made their way to the door, Ron pausing to break his scone in half and pass part of it to Hermione. Luna was handing a college student a cappuccino; Harry could just make out the elaborate leaf design she had worked into the foam. Squaring his shoulders, he turned away and followed his friends outside.

~

After the woman in front of him ordered some sort of pumpkin-flavored monstrosity, Harry stepped up to the register, took a deep breath, and smiled. Luna smiled back.

Ron kicked the back of his foot.

Trying not to grimace, Harry set his travel mug on the counter and said, "One latte, please." She rang up his order, humming to herself, as he tried to think of something charming to say. Mention the weather? No, it was raining. Compliment her outfit? No, she wore a uniform shirt beneath her purple apron. Wait, her earrings! She had a banana swinging from one ear, and an apple from the other. 

Luna smiled gratefully as he dropped his change into her tip jar, turning to take Ron's order as Harry stepped to the side. Today was the day, he told himself, balling his hands into fists. He was going compliment her earrings. _Those earrings are unique. Pretty, I mean._ He shifted from foot to foot, watching as she put the finishing touches on his drink. _I like your earrings. Where did you get them? I bet my friend would like a pair. She's not my girlfriend, of course, just a friend, a coworker, who appreciates jewelry. And fruit._

"Red mug?" Luna held out his drink, and Harry grinned nervously. He took a step forward, opened his mouth-

A flaming van careened down the street, past the coffee shop and out of sight. Seconds later, Iron Man zoomed past, the force of his suit's propulsion system rattling the windows. Many people turned to get a better look; others rolled their eyes and returned to their Wall Street Journals. 

"Please listen for when your name is called," Luna said mildly to the room at large. "It's so easy for people to get distracted these days," Luna said to Harry, who accepted his mug with what he hoped was a normal-looking smile. "Happy Wednesday!"

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding. "You, too."

He walked numbly toward a table to wait for Ron and Hermione. Maybe he'd talk to her tomorrow.

~

"Red mug?"

Harry tugged at his necktie. Why did it feel like it was strangling him this morning?

"Thanks," he said, stepping forward. "And- and, I like your hat."

Luna smiled, patting the orange beanie on her head. "Thank you. It's a little lumpy, since I made it myself, but it's warm. Do you knit?"

"No, but I could learn," Harry replied, already wondering where he could get a set of sticks. Needles? Whatever. He heard Ron's muffled laughter behind him.

She was already turning away. "Iced coffee for Ramone?" she said clearly, accepting the cup from another barista. A young man with a scarf and oversized glasses took the cup and darted out the door.

"I'm Harry," Harry said quickly, before the eager crowd swallowed him up. "Would you- I mean-"

"Could you hold that thought?" Luna said, turning to box up some scones. "I'd love to talk more, but the shop is really busy this morning. Would you like to take a walk in Central Park on Saturday?"

Harry blinked. "Yeah, that- that sounds great, I'll see you-"

"Scones for Cassidy?" she called out, and a tall woman strode over and accepted the box.

Harry gave her a little wave and backed away from the counter. He beamed at Ron and Hermione, who were watching from their usual table. "I talked to her!" he said in an excited whisper. "We're going to Central Park on Saturday!"

Hermione clapped her hands together, hearts dancing in her eyes. "Oh, how fun! What time? Are you having lunch first?"

Harry's face fell. "Ummm..."

Ron shook his head. "You didn't set a time, did you?" Hermione sighed.

"And I bet you didn't give her your number, either?" she added, digging around in her purse for a pen. She scribbled his name and number onto a sticky note and added a smiley face at the bottom. Before Harry could stop her, she was striding over to the register, waving at Luna, and dropping the note into the tip jar. She smiled triumphantly as she returned to their table. 

"Either she calls you and clarifies your plans, or you end up waiting around the park all day," Hermione said, her mission complete, as Harry gaped at her.

"I wouldn't have minded waiting," Harry murmured, his earlier smile creeping back.

Ron clapped him on the back. "As long as it doesn't rain."

~

It drizzled a bit Saturday morning, but had cleared up by the time Harry received a text saying to meet her at a falafel cart near the Pond. Luna was easy to spot in her orange hat, waving cheerfully as he made his way over.

"Do you like falafel?" she asked, slipping a dollar into the man's tip jar. "I'm a vegetarian, but it's okay if you eat meat around me, I won't be insulted."

Harry shook his head. "I can't think of the last time I had falafel," he said with a shrug. "But it's nice to mix things up once in a while." He ordered based on her recommendation and they had a nice stroll around the Pond, getting to know each other. Harry was surprised to learn that Luna was a botanist, having spent a year abroad after college to study in the field before returning to New York. She was working in her father's coffee shop while she searched for another job.

"I've applied to the New York Botanical Garden," she continued as they walked. "I hope they give me a chance. What do you do?"

"Private security," Harry replied. "My friends and I are brought in to make special arrangements for large events, or to check existing systems for vulnerabilities..." He trailed off. "But that's boring. Why don't you tell me more about the plants you saw in Cambodia?"

Her face lit up, but as she was midway through explaining the different types of forests she'd traveled through, an electric hum filled the air. She paused, tilting her head to listen, and out of nowhere came a deafening crack. Harry jumped nearly a foot in the air, the last of his falafel sent flying, as a tree twenty feet from where they stood shuddered and dropped a large branch with a bang. Startled birds shot off in every direction as more branches fell. A man bellowed in the distance, and moments later a tall, twisted creature the color of tree bark tumbled to the earth, a man in armor right on its tail. Thor brandished his hammer, his long hair and cape billowing behind him, and with a final shout about honor and vengeance, the pair of them vanished in a flash of light.

Harry and Luna stared at the patch of scorched grass where the two had been standing, then looked down at the chunks of falafel at their feet. Several curious ducks were marching their way. Harry sighed.

"I'm sorry about your lunch," Luna said finally as the ducks poked through it. "Would you like another one?"

Harry shook his head, smiling ruefully. "That's okay. But... maybe we could have dinner sometime? Somewhere vegetarian," he amended, watching her nervously. "I'd like to talk more. This has been... nice." He glanced back at the pile of debris and grimaced. "Mostly."

Luna smiled, taking a step back as the ducks started fighting over the last bits of bread. "Okay. Thursdays are usually good for me."

Harry beamed at her. "Sounds great."

~

Looking surprisingly cheerful after an exhausting day at the office, Harry followed Ron and Hermione into an elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. Once the door closed, he turned to face them; Ron raised an eyebrow.

“I’m going to see Luna this evening,” Harry said in a rush, “and I’m going to ask her to be my girlfriend.”

“Seriously?” Ron laughed. “You’ve been going out for over a _month_. What did she think was going on?”

“We haven’t made anything official yet,” Harry said, looking to Hermione for encouragement, who was watching him fondly. “I wanted to get to know her, not rush into anything-“

“That’s hilarious, coming from you,” Ron cut in, dodging Hermione’s elbow. “At work you’re always the first to jump in with a new plan, or change something on the fly when things go wrong, but with people, you’re like a _glacier_.”

“I think it’s sweet, Harry,” Hermione said, stepping out into the lobby as the doors opened. “And I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

A short time later, Harry stood outside the coffee shop, checking his watch. Luna said she’d be finished at six, leaving a smaller evening crew behind. He noticed a clapboard sign by the door that hadn’t been there yesterday: it was black, with the shop’s specials artfully written in purple marker.

“Do you like it?”

He turned to smile at Luna, who had joined him on the sidewalk. Today’s hat was sky blue and dotted with white pom-poms.

“Daddy thought a sidewalk sign would be eye-catching,” she explained, reaching over to take Harry’s hand. “I made it myself.”

“Very nice,” Harry said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I like how you made the letters really swirly.” He smiled at her. She smiled back.

Clearing his throat, Harry struggled for a moment to remember why he was there. “So, there’s something I wanted to ask-“

There was an ominous rumbling in the distance. Harry chose to ignore it, as did most of the people walking past them. “I would like to take you to dinner tonight,” he said formally, “And- and talk about-“

The rumbling drew closer, accompanied by something that sounded distressingly like lasers. Harry groaned inwardly and looked up. About a dozen robots were flying overhead, with the Avengers in hot pursuit. A green blur knocked one out of the sky, and to Harry’s horror, it began flying erratically toward them. Harry grabbed Luna and dragged her closer to the building as the robot landed in the middle of the street, the cars around it swerving and honking wildly.

One moment it was swiveling its robot head around, eyes glowing, and the next it was full of arrows and leaking a sickly blue slime. Leaping down from a nearby awning, Hawkeye sent a final arrow into its torso, splattering slime all over the sidewalk- and Luna’s freshly-made sign.

“Are you alright?” Harry murmured, and she nodded, staring glumly at the mess.

Hawkeye was turning this way and that, nocking a fresh arrow and keeping an eye out for threats. When he spotted Harry and Luna, he nodded in their direction and sent them a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry,” he said, giving the robot’s metal head a kick. “This guy is scrap, and they’ll get the rest of ‘em soon.” Looking puzzled at their lack of cheers and high fives, he followed their gaze and spotted the slimy sign. “Oh.”

Harry knew he was being ungrateful, but couldn’t bring himself to care. “She just made that!”

Luna sighed. “I’ll re-do it. I should have known better than to try something new while Mercury’s in retrograde.”

Hawkeye scratched his head. “Maybe it’ll wipe off?” With a mighty roar, the Hulk punched another robot; a chunk of metal smacked against the sign, which promptly burst into flames.

Hawkeye let his hand drop with a groan. “Aw, sign…”

He turned back to Harry and Luna with a grimace. “Don’t worry, I’m good for it. Well, Stark’s good for it. We’ll pay you back, okay?” He tapped at his earpiece and said, “Be there in a sec.” To Luna, he said, “I’m really sorry. Please don’t write a bad review on Yelp; they make Captain America cry, and no one wants that.”

“Thank you for saving us from the robots,” Luna said politely.

She bumped Harry with her shoulder, and he added, “Yeah, thanks.” They were alive, yes, but his plans, much like the sign, had gone up in smoke.

“Maybe go inside until the loud noises stop, okay?” Hawkeye suggested.

A crowd was starting to gather, phones held high. A guy in a fedora yelled, “Yeah, way to go, Hawkguy!”

Rolling his eyes, Hawkeye sprinted back toward the fight, and Harry took Luna into a nearby bookstore until the dust cleared.

~

A few days later, Luna texted Harry a picture of a suction cup arrow stuck to the shop door, with a piece of paper tied around the shaft. The next picture was of a curled up hundred-dollar bill and a note, which read:

_I hope this covers it. Sorry again! Please ask your boyfriend not to beat me up. –H_

Harry shook his head, then read it again and frowned.

_Is that okay?_ he texted back. _Him calling me your boyfriend?_

After a tense minute of staring at his phone, a reply appeared.

_Yes,_ she wrote, _just don’t be mad at Hawkeye. He was only doing his job._

A second message quickly followed. _Are you free for lunch tomorrow? You can help me with the new sign._

Grinning, Harry texted back, _Sounds good to me._

* * *

 

_~_

“What I'm saying is, what I'm asking... this last year has been amazing. I've enjoyed spending it with you, getting to know you, and I hope that... I'd like to have a lot more years like it. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Harry sighed. His reflection sighed back. Straightening his tie, he grabbed his keys and the little bouquet of violets he'd picked up that morning and headed down to the hotel lobby. His phone buzzed while he waited for the valet to bring his rental car around.

"Hey, Ron," he answered, making sure not to crush the flowers.

"How did the conference go?" Ron asked. "Hermione wants us all to go out for dinner when you get back, to get all the details. You know she'd love to go to DC sometime."

"Dinner sounds good," Harry said distractedly. "The conference was good. My seminar seemed to go over well, and I got some good info on tech vendors for next year, I'll have to tell Neville...” he trailed off. "Luna's here," he added after a moment. "For a protest. Something about oil refineries... I'm meeting her." He paused to take a breath. "For dinner."

"For- wait," Ron said, putting the pieces together pretty quickly. "You're going to ask her, aren't you? You've been muttering about it for a month-"

"Ron-"

“And you’ve had that ring for who knows how long-“

“ _Ron-_ “

“Have the waiter take pictures, maybe they can film her reaction-“

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Come on,” Ron laughed, “I wouldn’t mess with you if I wasn’t sure she’d say yes. Hermione says to get some pictures under the cherry trees before you leave; they’re still blooming, right? Just try not to panic. And don’t hide the ring in a cupcake,” he added. “Hermione’s parents still think I was trying to ruin all of their nice dental work.”

Harry sighed. “I’m not going to risk her choking to death before I get an answer,” he said as his car pulled up. “My car’s here, wish me luck,” he said in a rush, hanging up before Ron could respond.

After tipping the valet, Harry gently placed the flowers on the passenger seat and pulled up the route to the restaurant on his phone. After checking his jacket one last time for the ring box, he drove off.

Traffic was fairly light for that time of day. _Overcast but no rain,_ Harry thought absently, pulling onto a raised stretch of highway and carefully changing lanes. _Ideal driving conditions._ He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, watching a mud-colored Hummer drive quickly past him. _Who drives Hummers anymore?_ he wondered. _Luna wouldn’t be impressed._

He certainly hoped she would be impressed tonight. The internet assured him that this was the best vegetarian restaurant in D.C., and he’d double-checked to make sure that violets and amethyst were the right choices for someone with a February birthday. The little ring had gotten him some looks at the jewelry store, but Harry hoped she would appreciate the feelings behind it, and the trip to the destination of her choice with the money he’d saved by _not_ buying a diamond.

Harry blinked, then blinked again. He really needed to get his prescription checked, because it almost looked like there was a man standing on a car a good distance away. He was about ready to change lanes again as a second man was dragged through the car’s window and hurled into traffic.

Harry wrenched the steering wheel to the right, cursing as the flowers tumbled to the floor. He honked at a minivan that cut him off at a startling speed, trying to keep an eye on the car causing all of the trouble.

The car in question had screeched to a halt, sending the man soaring over the asphalt. The Hummer that had passed him earlier slammed into the back of it, and Harry watched in shock as the man leaped back onto the car, gripping its crumpled roof with his gleaming metal arm.

_No,_ Harry thought with dawning horror, _it can’t be…_

The man punched through the roof of the car with his metal arm and ripped out the steering wheel as Harry weighed his options. _Try to call 911 and risk crashing,_ he thought, gripping his own wheel rather tightly. _Pull over and wait for the dust to clear, and miss our reservation. Or…_ He took a deep breath and slowed down. _Full steam ahead._

The man had leaped onto the Hummer and stood perched on the hood as if it were a surfboard as Harry drove cautiously toward them. He was glad he’d reduced his speed when the Hummer slammed the car into the cement edge of the highway, sending it tumbling through the air and spilling its three passengers onto the road. Harry veered left as the car bounced and spun, his little sedan squealing in protest, dodging debris and the familiar blond and redhead that lay sprawled in the street.

_How are they_ here? Harry wondered as he swerved around the Hummer right before it screeched to a halt, armed gunmen leaping from every door. Didn’t Washington have its own set of superheroes, ones that weren’t set on ruining his life?

Not today, though _. Not today._

His phone calmly told him to take the next exit, which he did posthaste, cursing the Avengers and their lack of respect for America’s crumbling infrastructure. He heard an explosion; in his rearview mirror, Harry could see the Black Widow swinging from some sort of grappling hook, silhouetted in flame. He jumped the curb to get around an overturned bus, and after checking the street signs to make the proper turn, he pushed his mirror firmly to the side and continued on his way.

~

Harry arrived right on schedule, passing the car off to the parking attendant without daring to check for scratches. Luna was waiting for him at a table in the back, the candlelight sending rippling shadows across her face as she smiled. He grinned back, handing her the slightly rumpled flowers before sinking gratefully into his seat.

“How did your seminar go?” Luna asked as he glanced over the menu.

Harry laughed and set his menu aside. The vegetable shepherd’s pie sounded good, if his nerves hadn’t killed his appetite. “No one fell asleep, which I count as a win.” He shrugged. “I did get some positive feedback, and it’s nice to get away from my desk now and then.” Putting his hands in his lap to keep from fiddling with the silverware, he asked, “How was the protest? Think you guys got your point across?”

“It was a good turnout,” Luna replied, smiling as the server refilled her water glass. “You never know if online enthusiasm will translate into real life effort. Someone even loaned me a guitar so I could lead everyone in song. And no one threw anything at us,” she added as an afterthought, perusing her own menu.

Harry watched her read it for a moment before asking, “Do you think you changed anyone’s minds today?”

She looked at him over the edge of her menu, her eyes sparkling. “Even if we didn’t, we still had to try.”

Harry took a sip of water, thinking hard. After a waiter came over to take their orders, he leaned forward in his chair. She was wearing a purple scarf, the same color as…

“Can I ask you something?”

She nodded, and he urged his brain to catch up with his mouth. Reaching across the table and clasping her hand he said, “I hope this isn’t too forward, but you know I care about you, right?” She nodded again, her eyes growing impossibly wider. “Well…” he dug the box out of his pocket with his free hand, “We’re already on a journey together, but I’d like to make it official. “Would you- will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, jumping out of her chair to give him a hug. Harry’s heart seemed to jump for joy as the other guests burst into applause. Luna returned to her seat, beaming, as their waiter rushed over to congratulate them. A knot of servers clapping nearby were joined by a hostess who asked, “Did you hear about Captain America? He got into a crazy fight on the highway this afternoon!”

Luna turned to Harry in shock. “Wow, I didn’t know the Avengers ever left the city. Did you see anything on your drive over?”

“Nope,” Harry said, slipping the ring onto her finger. “Must have just missed them.”

**Author's Note:**

> And here's my latest Harry/Luna mashup; hope you enjoyed it! Like I said, those two can fit into anything. It was fun to come up with ways for each Avenger to ruin Harry's day, although recreating the actual scene from Captain America: TWS was harder than I thought it would be. I watched the clip on YouTube about 15 times to get the details right; hopefully it makes sense.
> 
> Feel free to check out my surprisingly popular HP/Doctor Who fic, A Light in the Darkness, and my new HP/Glee/Supernatural fic, Make Your Move, for more insanity. I also have a more straightforward Harry/Luna series if you'd like to see them and their children at Hogwarts.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! This is the last crossover idea I have, but I'm open to suggestions. ~MA


End file.
